Ethiopia III Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

"Return to Ethiopia" Trip

September 22 - October 7, 2012

50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps in Ethiopia

 


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September 25 - Tuesday

Meeting with the Ethiopian President

 

(Important note: All photographs, except where mentioned,  are copyrighted as of October 8, 2012, by Darrel and Betty Hagberg. Please request permission to use and please credit them).

 

The National Palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is also known as the Jubilee Palace. The palace was built in 1955 to mark emperor Haile Selassie's Silver Jubilee. After a coup attempt in the Guenete Leul Palace in 1960, the emperor made the Jubilee Palace his main residence. Although the seat of government remained at the Imperial Palace. The palace was expanded and doubled in size between 1966 and 1967.

The Jubilee Palace was the site of the dethronement of Emperor Haile Selassie in September 1974. 10 low ranking military officers appeared before the Emperor in the palace library and read him the statement of the Derg, which officially removed him from the throne. The Derg (the Committee) renamed the Palace the "National Palace", which it still bears today. The Derg used this Palace for state ceremonies involving visiting heads of state, state banquets and receptions. The Derg added a swimming pool to the grounds. With the fall of the Derg, and the proclamation of the Federal Republic, the Jubilee Palace became the official residence of the President of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia. The president has a ceremonial role and uses the palace for official functions.

The Ethiopian Government announced its intention to build a new official presidential residence. The National Palace will then be opened as a museum. It will continue to house the President of the Republic until that time.

In the morning of September 25, 2012, RPCV's on the "Return to Ethiopia"  trip (known in the Ethiopian Foreign  Ministry as "The One Hundred') were invited to a meeting with the Ethiopian President,

 

After a brief welcome from Ethiopian President

"The One-Hundred" gathered on the front steps of the National Palace (Jubilee Palace) for a group photo with Ambassador Taye of the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs; Donald Booth, American Ambassador to Ethiopia; Dick Day, Peace Corps Regional Director for Africa; and Gregory Engle, Ethiopia Peace Corps Director.

(Photo credits: Ethiopian Foreign Ministry)

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September 22 Ethiopian Embassy Reception
September 23 Dulles Airport
September 24 Addis Ababa Airport Reception
September 24 Addis Ababa City Views
September 24 Hebir Restaurant Dinner Show - Addis Ababa
September 25 Addis Ababa City Views
September 25 Ethiopian President Welcome
September 25 Kotebe College for Teachers - Addis Ababa
September 25 US Embassy Reception
September 26 Ethnological Museum - Addis Ababa
September 26 Saint George Cathedral - Addis Ababa
September 26 Mercato Market Place - Addis Ababa
September 26 Meskel Celebrations - Addis Ababa
September 27 National Museum - Addis Ababa
September 27 Mount Entoto Overlook - Addis Ababa
September 27 Trinity Cathedral - Addis Ababa
September 27 Debre Berhan
September 28 Debre Berhan
September 28 Ankober
September 29 Lalibella and Market
September 29 Yemrehanna Kristos Church, Bilbilla
September 30 Churches of Lalibella
October 01 Stelae Field - Axum
October 01 Tombs of Kaleb and Gebre Meskel - Axum
October 01 The Enzana Stone - Axum
October 01 Queen of Sheba's Palace - Axum
October 01 Monastic Complex of Saint Mary of Zion - Axum
October 02 Mai Shum (Queen of Sheba's Swimming Pool - Axum
October 02 Fasilo Ghebbi (Royal Enclosure) - Gondar
October 02 Debre Birhan Selassie Church - Gondar
October 02 Wolieka (Falasha Village) - Gondar
October 03 Fasilidas's Pool - Gondar
October 03 Barhar Dar
October  04 Blue Nile Falls - Barhar Dar
October  04 Lake Tana - Barhar Dar
October  04 Church of Ura Kidane Mihret - Barhar Dar
October  05 Dire Dawa - Harar
October 06 Red Terror Museum - Addis Ababa
October 06 Babile - Harar - Dire Dawa
October 07 Dire Dawa
October 07 Farewell Dinner at Crown Hotel - Addis Ababa

 

Click below for more Ethiopia Web Site features

Map of Ethiopia and Eritrea (circa 1964)
Ethiopia III Trainees Book
In Country Assignments, 1964-1966
Photo Memories of Ethiopia
Ethiopian Art and Culture
Ethiopia III's Attending the 50th Reunion
Books on Ethiopia
Ethiopian Artifact Exhibition
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Updated on September 24, 2020